21st Century Retailing

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Here are Molly’s notes from the conference! 

21st Century Retailing was presented by Jenny Crittenden, the Executive Director of the Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust in Gloucester, VA

Disruption: technologies or innovations that make products and services more accessible and affordable.
     People shop downtown because they want to, not because they have to.
Consumer Behavior:
     Web-roamer – researched online before going shopping
     Show-rooming – looking at it in a store before buying at cheaper price online
Downtown loyalty program – hard part is the internal campaign
Ask for online reviews
     60% consumers read these
     55% consumers want social interaction
Case study – Bonobos: e-commerce model, look at everything in the store, purchase there and have shipped home.
Relationship Retailing:  
     Loyalty program
     “Try on”: Contact your best customers to let them know of an outfit you think they like, see if they’d like it sent for trying on.  Modeling the “outfit boxes” like Stitch Fix
     In store pick up
     After hours shopping
     Hand written notes
Segmentation: use data to segment the customer base by
     Interest & needs
     Gender and age
Individualization: always respond and engage
Customer-centricity: revolve around what your customer wants and needs
     70% of retail sales happen after 5pm.
     Offer personalized shopping
     Create customer profiles
Utilize technology
     Use digital screens
     Use cloud based POS system
Instagram
     80% of users connect with business voluntarily on instagram
     Instagram stories
     Use a key #hashtag
     Connect with your customers – respond to comments and shares
Trends
     BOPIS – buy online purchase in store
     BORIS – Buy online, return in store
     BORO – Buy online, return online (free shipping)
How can small businesses personalize?
     Beacons in store to show where people are
     Find products that allow personalization

For Example…

     All Washed up
     Pandora
     Shoes of Prey
     Sephora
Omnichannel Retailing: connect it all together
    7% online only
     20% store only
     73% multichannel: spend more overall, spend more per channel used, breeds loyalty
Omnichannel – having multiple retail presence these ways
     Pinterest
     Brick & Mortar
     Instagram
     Facebook
Omnichannel effectively
To maximize web-roaming behavior
     Make sure the store inventory is online
     Offer click and connect
Store events: Downtown does this best!
     Yoga on the patio
     Yappy hour – pet owners get wine, pets get treats
Creative in store experiences = sales